Thomas Bolyn Smothers III (February 2, 1937 – December 26, 2023) was an American comedian, actor, composer, and musician, widely known as half of the musical comedy duo the Smothers Brothers, alongside his younger brother Dick. In the 1960s they were known for their network comedy and variety shows, The Smothers Brothers Show and The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.
Smothers and John Lennon played acoustic guitar during the live recording of Lennon's 1969 song "Give Peace a Chance".
Early life
Thomas Bolyn Smothers III was born on February 2, 1937, at the Fort Jay army post hospital on Governors Island in New York City, the son of Ruth (), a homemaker, and Major Thomas B. Smothers, a United States Army officer who died a POW of the Japanese in April 1945. The younger Smothers later grew up in Altadena, Tujunga, and Redondo Beach, California.
As a child, Smothers played guitar and piano by ear due to difficulty reading sheet music; Smothers would be diagnosed with dyslexia at age 31. Beginning in fifth grade, he played guitar in bands formed with friends and began incorporating humor with his music and in-school interactions. Athletically, he grew up competing in gymnastics.
Smothers first attended Verdugo Hills High School before transferring to Redondo Union High School as a senior. At Redondo Beach, he and his brother sang in the school's madrigal choir, Tom as a bass and Dick as a tenor; Tom graduated from Redondo Union in 1955. Smothers then enrolled at San Jose State College (now San Jose State University) in 1956 as an advertising major and competed at pole vault on the track team as a freshman in 1956–57. Then in 1957–58, Smothers competed on the gymnastics team, where he tied for first place on the parallel bars at the 1958 State College Gymnastics Championships.
Career
Inspired by the popularity of The Kingston Trio's "Tom Dooley", the Smothers Brothers initially wanted to be folk musicians.
After Dick transferred to San Jose State in 1957, Tom and Dick began performing music at San Jose nightclubs, with audiences mostly of other college students. The following month, the brothers left San Jose State to focus full-time on working in entertainment, after the Purple Onion asked them to substitute for other acts who were ill. Their show was so successful that the Purple Onion extended their original two-week contract to 16 weeks; the brothers returned to the Purple Onion for another 16-week contract after playing a Lake Tahoe club in the summer of 1959.
In February 1960, the Smothers Brothers made their professional debut at Aspen, Colorado. Tom recalled in 2006 interview: